A journey of survival starting from Zhetian

Chapter 710 Symbol of the End Times
"Why is this happening?!"

The Wood Emperor was utterly perplexed. He had clearly attained enlightenment and possessed power beyond creation, so why was he still so vulnerable during the "final tribulation" at the end of the era?

At the Creation Realm, He could rely on His own proximity to the Dao to possess the power of the pseudo-Other Shore, traversing the end of era after era, persisting in the void amidst the collapse of all things until the end of the final calamity, until the Primordial Heavenly Venerable created heaven and earth and established a new era.

Now, the Wood Emperor feels that he is much stronger than before, more powerful than the many pseudo-Other Shores that cannot leave the shortcut, and has more possibilities.

But when facing the final tribulation, that weakness and dreamlike state remained unchanged.

The Wood Emperor holds a large bell, a bright halo shining behind his head. He expands his own laws, bearing the terrifying illusion and emptiness, trying to make the "time" he retains as long as possible.

"A quarter of an hour."

The Wood Emperor's expression was grim; this was the maximum survival time he had estimated, using his own consciousness as a time coordinate.

Faced with this desperate situation, He looked once more at the projection of Hisself onto the Taiji diagram not far away, and a sudden realization dawned on His mind, spreading a bitter feeling, tinged with a trace of sorrow.

The Wood Emperor suppressed his negative emotions, bowed to the [Tai Chi Diagram], and earnestly pleaded, "Please, fellow Daoist, save me."

As soon as the words were spoken, the Yin-Yang cycle on the Tai Chi diagram paused slightly, and in this almost blank space, a faint sigh seemed to echo.

A ray of light rose into the sky, transforming into a golden bridge that stretched from the beginning of this era's flourishing beginnings, spanning its peak of prosperity, leaping over its decline and decay, and stepping into the moment before all things returned to "nothingness".

This projection of the Taiji Diagram borrowed the power of the original body and unleashed a law far surpassing that of the Wood Emperor at this moment. It completely encompassed everything in the Realm of Truth, including the most ancient universes of all the heavens and myriad realms, as well as the near-path places obscured by celestial secrets.

The Taiji Golden Bridge manifests, Wuji gives rise to Taiji, Taiji transforms into Yin and Yang, Yin and Yang give rise to the Four Symbols, and the endless "laws" and "principles" vaguely form a clear and bright circle of light, perfect and flawless, and also carries a special infinite cycle, indestructible and immortal, eternally existing.

A wisp of life brought by the Tai Chi diagram appeared, guiding the "past" and providing a signpost to return to the forefront of the river of time. However, when the Wood Emperor saw this scene, his expression changed again and again, his face turned pale, and his hands trembled uncontrollably.

The Wood Emperor vaguely sensed something, but dared not be sure, nor did he want to be sure. He could only take a step onto the Taiji Golden Bridge with fear and despair.

However, the figure of the Wood Emperor passed through the Golden Bridge like a dream, as if it were a soul without a home, illusory and empty.

It is true that He is the One of the Other Shore, but it is precisely this "truthfulness" that allows Him to be compared with the Tai Chi diagram, reflecting one "falsehood" after another within the "truthfulness".

Therefore, the Wood Emperor who has already attained enlightenment is still an illusion, a mirage, and a vivid daydream!
After all, even if someone attains enlightenment, they can only exist for a maximum of fifteen minutes and cannot influence the other side of this world.
If this isn't a daydream, then what is it?!

"Heavenly Venerable One!"

"All the heavens and myriad worlds are illusions; only you three are real!"

"So, in your eyes, I really am nothing more than a phantom that you don't need to care about!"

The Wood Emperor roared hysterically, his voice filled with sorrow and despair.

He recalled his past journey to the Great Crimson Heaven to hear the Dao and to see the true face of the Moral Celestial Venerable. The gaze of this being born on the other shore, looking upon countless creations, legends, and all living beings, carried not only curiosity, not only understanding, but also amusement.
It turns out there's another kind of indifference that's chilling and detached to the extreme.

This is also "wuwei" – no need to do anything!

The Wood Emperor has now reached the other shore, and he can sense how easy it would be for him to elevate a mortal being, who doesn't even know what transcendence is, to the point of perfect creation.

All that is needed is to bring this mortal being back to the moment immediately after the creation of the world, to replace a perfect being who should have been born from the Realm of Creation, and to complete the overriding of cause and effect and destiny.

Without any fellow Daoists from the other shore appearing to stop them, this couldn't be simpler.

If the Wood Emperor himself can manipulate creation to perfection, then what about the three innate beings who are clearly more powerful than Him?
How do they view the beings below the other side?
It was all just a dream.

The three celestial beings may be friendly to the beings in the "dream" and may also help the beings below the other shore. They may even put in some effort to cultivate some "good-looking", "useful" and "interesting" "characters" and put in some "emotion" for the sake of "face".

When you wake up from the dream, and reality demands your busy life, does everything in the dream still matter?

What is unimportant will be forgotten in an instant.

Ordinary mortals may retain some dream details when they wake up in the morning, but by noon or in the afternoon, they have almost forgotten them.

If you still feel nostalgic, then "start a new game," repeat the "story," and that's all.

Perhaps, for the Taoist Master at that time, the so-called preaching was just a "drama," a "game" of vying for face with his two brothers.

Since it's a "game" that can be restarted at any time after discussing it with the two brothers, is it really necessary to put in more effort?

In this "game," the choice that Moral God makes is likely to be "letting go," "reducing intervention," and "doing nothing."

Watching the two brothers tear each other apart in the "game," and then stepping in at crucial moments, might be a unique kind of fun.

Now, the three brothers may have gotten tired of this "game" and no longer want to enter the "dream".

So they left without the slightest regret.

The Wood Emperor had never felt his thoughts were so clear. Memories of nearly ten thousand different paths replayed in his mind, as if verifying his guess about the three beings who were born on the other side. All of this caused him pain and made him feel a profound sense of despair.

"I thought that once I attained enlightenment, I could survive this final tribulation without a next era, and use the nascent myriad worlds within me to survive in a chaos that was almost devoid of logic and concepts."

"As a result, after attaining enlightenment, he not only 'welcomed' the end of the era earlier, but also put himself on the countdown to his demise."

"Now, even the way back, which was sent to me by the [Tai Chi Diagram], is unusable for me."

"The other shore, the other shore, the other shore. There is no shore to turn back to!"
-
The present moment in the long river of time.

All the legends of the myriad realms, almost all creation, are waiting for them.

They await the return of the first Wood Emperor of this era to attain the other shore, and then request His protection in order to survive the final catastrophe.

However, after waiting for hundreds of years, the Wood Emperor did not appear; after waiting for thousands of years, there was no response; after searching for tens of thousands of years, no trace of Him could be found. A powerful being who had attained the other shore, a powerful being who manifested four magnificent phenomena at the time of his enlightenment, simply vanished.

The Mountain God of Laishan sat quietly in the Laishan Valley. He looked up at the sky and projected his consciousness toward the Milky Way. He asked softly with slight unease, "Fellow Daoist Tianhe, it has been nearly 100,000 years since the strange phenomenon appeared on the other side. Have you made any progress on the matter of searching for the projection of the Wood Emperor?"

A melodious voice, flowing like a gentle stream, echoed, "I used the power of the Milky Way to circulate countless fragments of cosmic light. I have carefully explored every place where the Wood Emperor's projection exists, but I have found nothing."

Longbo, carrying his fishing rod, stepped onto the banks of the Milky Way and said with a hint of melancholy, "I used the method of fishing to sweep through the twelve most ancient universes. Among the first few that appeared in this era, there was no trace of the Wood Emperor."

Chiwen emerged from the flow of time and sighed softly, "I have indeed made some gains here."

In an instant, eleven pairs of eyes turned to the Great Sage, their anxiety evident.

Chiwen shook his head. "Actually, it's not good news. In the past, all of the projections of the Wood Emperor have gone wrong, and even the traces of history have completely collapsed. It's as if it's a natural extinction."

"It reveals a kind of rationality within irrationality, which is very strange."

All eleven powerful beings at the Perfected Creation level could hear the chilling aura subtly emanating from Chiwen's words.

The collapse and natural disappearance of historical traces seem illogical and inconsistent with reality.

When these ancient and powerful beings, residing in the realm of near-the-path and possessing pseudo-otherworldly power, encounter problems with the historical traces they left behind, they immediately gain insight and take action. It is impossible for an otherworldly being even more powerful than them to be inferior to one who has achieved perfect creation.

unless
"Unless the Wood Emperor dies."

On the Heavenly Pool in the Realm of Truth, the Golden Emperor, who was repairing his inner essence, spoke softly.

"Once the Wood Emperor dies, everything will be explained."

"Why has the Wood Emperor disappeared? Because He has died, so it is naturally impossible for Him to reappear in the myriad worlds."

"Why have all traces of the Wood Emperor's past disappeared naturally? Do you still remember the other shore phenomenon of 'time surrounding you'? When the foundation is lost, the other shore will also be difficult to maintain."

"There are many other explanations, all of which can be explained, or at least are logically consistent."

The other eleven powerful beings remained silent. It wasn't that they hadn't considered this possibility, but rather that it was too exaggerated, too incredible, to the point of being detached from reality.

The Wood Emperor clearly succeeded in attaining the other shore, but if what the Gold Emperor said is true, wouldn't the Wood Emperor have perished shortly after attaining the other shore?!
Who can make someone from the other side perish so quickly right now?

No!

The three Celestial Venerables have already disappeared. Would they still care about someone who has achieved perfect creation and is about to reach the other shore?

It is absolutely impossible.

Were they surrounded and killed by a powerful pseudo-otherworld figure like Xuanjun within [Nanshan]?

It's still impossible. The pseudo-Other Shore can trace its "existence" back to the moment after the beginning of this era within its current region. Presumably, the true Other Shore can trace its "existence" back to the moment after the beginning of this era in any region.

This is a powerful life-saving ability; even if surrounded and attacked by numerous fake Other Shores, the real Other Shore will never die.

If you can't beat them, at least you can dodge them.

The Earth Emperor muttered to himself, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, "So it can only be classified as an accident? Or did it self-destruct to complete some kind of plan?"

The Golden Emperor chuckled, "What plan could be more important than surviving the apocalypse?"

The Golden Emperor's pupils held a hint of indifference. "It could be an accident, but more likely it is an 'accident' that every being who successfully attains the other shore will inevitably encounter."

A few breaths after the words were spoken, all the legends and creations of the myriad realms turned their gaze toward the infinite heights.

A ray of blue sun appeared there, then quickly collapsed, causing all the stars in the myriad realms, all the sources of life, and all the lands capable of giving birth to living beings to tremble slightly, cracking open one terrifying fissure after another.

In an instant, countless stars fell silent, countless nascent lives perished, and countless vibrant paradises seemed to have been slashed away.

The Real World, which was in its early stages of development, went from a period of "vigorous development" to an extremely bizarre "peak prosperity" in the blink of an eye, and then relentlessly headed towards "decline and decay".

Such a terrifying sight stunned all the legends and most of creation, leaving them in a state of shock for a long time.

"This era has entered its middle and late stages."

"The impact of the Wood Emperor's death after attaining the other shore is truly enormous."

"Everyone, if you still want to try to reach the other shore, if you still have the desire to ascend to the other shore, you need to hurry up."

"Time is running out."

The great eagle, with a profound understanding of the end times, murmured softly on Zhongshan Mountain. It overlapped time and space, allowing its voice to resonate in the ears of every great supernatural being at the level of perfect creation, echoing throughout the heavens and myriad realms.

Indeed, this is the case. Looking at the past eras in which three Celestial Venerables ruled the world, once an era begins to decline from its peak, the speed at which it enters its final phase will become faster and faster.

Every acquisition of resources from the Realm, every arbitrary twisting of fragments of cosmic light from all the heavens and myriad worlds, and every struggle for the Dao of the Great Creation Powers intensifies this process.

Without the three Celestial Venerables suppressing the Realm of Truth, and with only the half-foundation of the Dream Dao constructed by the Mysterious Lord of Nanshan, the entire process toward the end of the era would only become more violent and unstoppable.
-
At the summit of Nanshan, inside a small Taoist temple.

With the help of a wisp of sacrificial power, Xiong Mo's consciousness temporarily broke free from the river of time and fate, wandering in the vast chaos.

He looked at the Wood Emperor, who had perished at the end of time, at the boundless fragments of cosmic light rising and falling before him, constantly approaching their end, and at the [Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation] leaping in his hand.

"The final fruit of the Dao, and the 'End of All Things' symbolizing the end of the world."

(End of this chapter)